probe

noun

/prəʊb/

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probe (into something) (used especially in newspapers) a complete and careful investigation of something
- a police probe into the financial affairs of the company
- Arson probe after three die at home.
(also space probe)
a spacecraft without people on board that obtains information and sends it back to earthTopics Spacec2
(specialist) a long, thin metal tool used by doctors for examining inside the bodyTopics Medicinec2
(specialist) a small device put inside something and used by scientists to test something or record informationTopics Engineeringc2

probe

verb

/prəʊb/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they probe	/prəʊb/ /prəʊb/
he / she / it probes	/prəʊbz/ /prəʊbz/
past simple probed	/prəʊbd/ /prəʊbd/
past participle probed	/prəʊbd/ /prəʊbd/
-ing form probing	/ˈprəʊbɪŋ/ /ˈprəʊbɪŋ/

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[intransitive, transitive] to ask questions in order to find out secret or hidden information about somebody/something synonym investigate
- probe (into something) He didn't like the media probing into his past.
- probe something a TV programme that probed government scandals in the 1990s
- + speech ‘Then what happened?’ he probed.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- deep
- deeply
- further
- …
preposition
- for
- into
- with
- …
See full entry
[transitive] probe something to touch, examine or look for something, especially with a long, thin instrument
- The doctor probed the wound for signs of infection.
- Searchlights probed the night sky.
Topics Medicinec2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- deep
- deeply
- further
- …
preposition
- for
- into
- with
- …
See full entry

Word Originlate Middle English (as a noun): from late Latin proba ‘proof’ (in medieval Latin ‘examination’), from Latin probare ‘to test’. The verb dates from the mid 17th cent.